Feds to pay $144.5 million for its role in Texas church shooting

The federal government has agreed to pay victims of a 2017 church shooting in Texas $144.5 million to compensate them for the Air Force’s failure to flag the shooter as someone who shouldn’t be able to buy a gun.

The settlement could defuse a thorny issue for the Biden administration, which was fighting the payment in court even as President Biden argues for more background checks and other gun controls.

Devin Patrick Kelley had a prior domestic violence assault conviction on his record but the Air Force didn’t report it to the FBI, so it didn’t register in the background check when Kelley bought multiple guns, some of which he used to attack the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.

A federal judge previously ruled that the Air Force bore most of the blame for the shooting, and Wednesday’s settlement puts a price tag on that.

“No words or amount of money can diminish the immense tragedy of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “Today’s announcement brings the litigation to a close, ending a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime.”

The settlement covers more than 75 plaintiffs.

It must still be approved by a judge overseeing the case.

Kelley sprayed 450 rounds in the church, wounding 22 parishioners and killing 26 — one woman was pregnant and her fetus is included in the official tally authorities use.

Kelley was chased by two parishioners who were themselves armed, and eventually took his own life.

A federal judge in 2021 ruled that the Air Force was 60% responsible for the shooting and set damages at $230 million. The Justice Department appealed that award earlier this year, saying it wanted to seek a settlement.

Gun control advocates had pressed the administration to stop fighting the ruling and payout.

They said arguing against the judge’s conclusions undermined the administration’s core political position that guns are dangerous, purchases should be restricted and background checks can work.

The new settlement comes as Mr. Biden renews his call for gun control after a school shooting last month in Nashville, Tennessee, that left three children and three adults dead.

The shooter in that case, Audrey Hale, purchased seven guns from five different stores since 2020. The shooter was also under a doctor’s care for an “emotional disorder,” authorities said.

In the wake of the Nashville shooting, Mr. Biden renewed his call for a ban on a class of semiautomatic rifles often referred to as “assault weapons.”

After an even deadlier school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last year, Congress approved legislation to enhance penalties on gun trafficking and unlicensed dealers. Democrats failed to win approval for broader background checks or the assault weapons ban.

Many Republicans, meanwhile, favor legislation encouraging trained security or armed teachers as a way to discourage school shootings.